


Cloud 9

by sophie_chis



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Percy Jackson Fusion, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Gay Keith (Voltron), Letsgomate, M/M, Nymphs - Freeform, WhyNot, klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-07
Updated: 2017-07-07
Packaged: 2018-11-29 03:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11432301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophie_chis/pseuds/sophie_chis
Summary: KLANCE (subplot) – Percy Jackson Au (not finished, still writing)Camp half blood has not been troubled for many years. No quarrelling gods, no psycho titans, no mass world destruction- nothing (bar a few monsters stumbling across civilisation.)But then the centaurs disappear.Everyone thought they'd appear sooner or later, but they never did.They need to find them.So who better for the job then 5 (kinda) random demigods - Lance, Keith, Shiro, Pidge and Hunk.But there's a few problems with this quintet:- Lance and Keith don't get a long- Lance has crush on Keith and Keith's oblivious- Hunk is always hungryThings go from bad to worse as a series of mass murders commence.No one is safe.All 5 demigods must save the world and find out whose behind it before it's too late.________________________Hey so I'm just having some fun here. Mostly from the POV of Lance (3rd person) Obviously I do not own or take credit for any of the characters/settings in this story. Please enjoy!!!!!! Also excuse my terrible spelling/grammar and shit writing skills. Thanks XD





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi. I'm not good at writing but I will try. This should be interesting. More chapters to come I guess!? Yea. Planning to write a lot of short chapters. Enjoy. Lol. Does anyone else like Nachos?
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Nacho cheese.

Nothing.

Camp half- blood was a pretty chill place. No crazy titans, no rampaging gods, no psycho demigods– only the odd monster terrorised the camp now. Lance was kinda glad that his generation of campers weren't involved in any Greek God antics. But it did get slightly boring. He'd always secretly longed to go on a quest filled with danger. He'd be a hero. Who was Lance kidding though? Stuff like that never happened to him. 

No point in dwelling in the pointless.

His best friend Hunk told him that flirting was pointless too, but that didn't stop Lance. Lance was a son of Aphrodite for gods-sake. He was freakin' born for this shiz.

"Lance stop. I can't bare the embarrassment anymore."

"Relax Hunk. I'm on it like a car bonnet. This one has completely fallen for me."

Lance had recently been flirting with this Apollo chick who was totally out of his league. Of course, he was oblivious. He thought he was da bomb. He was going to ask her out on a date and everything! Hunk disagreed though. He thought it was a bad idea. 

"That's what you said last time."

"I know, but this time I'm sure."

Hunk rolled his eyes.

"I'm just saying Lance, she's not into you."

"You wouldn't understand! You're a son of Demeter, not Aphrodite."

"Yea, I know but I do have some common sense and that girl does not like you. She told you you were a creep and then threaten you with a guitar! You can't ignore that!"

Lance dropped his head on the picnic table and sighed. Damn. Maybe Hunk was right. Almost being executed with a musical instrument was not a good sign. Ugh, he was such a loser. He was suppose to be a babe magnet, like the rest of his siblings, not a 'creep'. Lance was a failure. He was cursed. He was going to die alone. He had no hope. WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF HIS LIFE?! 

"Are you okay, Lance?"

"Uh, I'm fine."

Hunk gave him a sympathetic look.

"Don't worry dude. You'll find someone one day."

Lance shrugged his shoulders and then continued to shovel mash potato in his mouth. Hunk's suggestion wasn't impossible, just very, very unlikely.

Oh well. No point in dwelling in the pointless.

***

The fire torches around camp burned brightly. It was a fresh autumn night– cold enough to wear a cozy jumper but not quite cold enough to wear a jacket. Lance had decided to wear his favourite midnight blue (not navy) jumper for tonights camp fire. The jumper was slim fitting but not too skinny– there was just enough room for belly expansion just in case too many of Hunk's homemade pumpkin sweets were consumed.

As Lance sat down next to Hunk round the crackling fire, he gave him a high-five (like a real good one) and started babbling away to him. Coran (the camp director) stood by the fire and combed his hair whilst he waited for everyone to be seated. When he'd finished pampering himself for the evening he then cleared his throat;

"Right, is everyone here then?" he said in his twangy aussie accent.

"- Have we got Tilly? Isabelle? Billy? Clayton, is that you? Yes? Alright sit down then! OK. ok." he cleared his throat again, much to Lance's annoyance, and continued;

"So I hate to start the off with bad news. But some important issues have cropped up lately."

Lance sniggered at this. The most 'important issue' that could of 'cropped up' was that Coran had probably ran out of moustache wax again. Really, it happened at least twice a year.

"You have probably noticed lately that some of your camp instructors have been absent. Strangely, you might have also noticed that they're all centaurs. I hate to say it but we don't think this is a coincidence. Centaurs have recently been reported to be missing all around the world. In fact, there's none left. They've all gone. And no one knows where they bloody are. That's why we have decided that we must send a group of demigods on a quest to find them."

Curiosity and bewilderment spread across the campers like wild fire. A quest? A quest! Yes. This was what they'd all been waiting for. Lance could maybe actually go an adventure. Was this actually happening?

"Also I must add that this quest will be dangerous. It's no joke. We're sending 5 demigods on this mission and we've already decided who's going so don't get your knickers in a twist about it."

Unhappy murmurs sizzled through the crowd. Ok, so Lance didn't have a chance. He was 99.9% sure that he had not been picked. There was no way he'd ever be chosen– like ever.

"We have chosen 5 people from 5 different cabins. It took us a long time to decide but we've made our choice. Everyone is capable of doing this quest but not everyone made the cut. So here we go, I will announce the final 5."

The suspense was deadly. It was so quiet you could've heard a pin drop. It was killing Lance. Coran took a deep, long breath and began. 

"First of all, we have Shiro, Son of Athena–" Coran announced. Joyful cheers erupted from one side of the fire. An obvious choice. Shiro was a top student, a top fighter, everyone loved him and he was one of the oldest in the camp. Shiro was like the coolest dude ever.

"Keith, Son of Ares –" this time more violent cheers were heard, but that was Ares kids for you though– scary as shit. Keith was no exception. He was a mean lean killing machine and Lance thought he was...well...like... kinda hot.

"Pidge, Daughter of Hephaestus–" Lance could of sworn he'd seen a flying spanner thrown in celebration. Pigde was pretty sound. She was a technological genius and budding inventor– a great addition to any team.

"Hunk, Son of Demeter–" Hunk was aghast. Lance gave him a pat on the back and smiled. He was really proud of Hunk. He was going to have a blast.

"And at last... but not least..."

The campers fell silent. Who would fill the last place? Lance knew it'd probably be some Apollo kid. They were good at everything and were always pretty happy.

"Lance, Son of Aphrodite." 

sdfghjklfgvjhbjnaq– WHAT?! Lance was shocked. Him? LIKE SERIOUSLY?! Dude. This was totally AWESOME!!!!

Coran twisted his moustache in satisfaction and then flapped his hands, signalling for people to leave.

"Ok so the rest of you skedaddle. Goodnight. I'm sure there will be another chance for you another time. Meanwhile, Shiro, Keith, Pidge, Hunk and Lance you stay here. We have a lot to talk about..."

Lance couldn't believe he was going on a FRICKING QUEST! What made this quest even better though was that he got to go with his best friend, Hunk (plus a hot Ares kid). Oh boy, was he so pumped. He was ready to kick some butt! 

Everyone had gone. There was an awkward silence. It was just the 5 of them and Coran.

"So boys, and girl, how about we all shake hands, sit down to some tea and get to know each other a bit better, hm? It's going to be a long night."


	2. 2

Lance had to admit, he felt pretty cool right now. And who could blame him? He was about to go on a quest with real life people! 

 It was just very awkward.

All five of them sat in the big house and waited for Coran to make tea.  It was deadly. Everyone was silent. Lance couldn't stand it– it was making him all anxious and sweaty. He couldn't just sit there. It was killing him. He finally decided to try talk to Hunk. Eyebrow speak was the only way.  He began to furiously wiggle his eyebrows up and down at his friend across the table. 

 **Lance:**  Hunk? HUNK.

 **Hunk:** LANCE!

 **Lance:** What do we do? It's so quiet.

 **Hunk:**  I don't know... Someone should speak.

 **Lance:**  Ok. Do you wanna speak first then?

 **Hunk:**  NO! You go first

 **Lance:**  I'm not doing it. You do it!

 **Hunk:** No you do it!

 **Lance:** It was your idea! You do it!

 **Hunk:** No You–

"What are you guys doing?" Pidge frowned, obviously confused by their behaviour.

Lance and Hunk froze.  She had seen using eyebrow speak! Quiznak. They seemed like complete nutters. Lance had to think quickly.

_Just be smooth, Mcclain._

"Nothing. I just had something in my eye." Lance said, as he casually rubbed his eyelid.

_Bingo. Cool like a cucumber._

Hunk blushed deeply, "Yeah. I mean, it's not like we... we were. You know like... communicating or anything. Who uses, like, special secret codes to speak anyway? Not me!!! Hhahaaa... yea." 

_NOOOOOOO!!! HUNK!!!_

Their covered had been blown. Lance quickly jabbed Hunk's arm to stop him from fumbling on and further damaging their reputation.

"Uh huh." Pidge said, readjusting her glasses. Lance could tell she didn't buy it.

Just then, Coran waltzed in the room, plopping down a tray full of  tea cups and biscuits on the table.

"Sorry that took so long. The tea cups got stuck in the cupboard again. Damn pests. So much bloody effort just for a damn cuppa. I don't ask for much you know!" Coran said as he looked up and shook his fist in frustration at the gods.

They all stared at each other.  _Stuck? Pests?!_

Lance didn't want to know. Actually, it was probably best if they all didn't know. Who knew what Coran kept in his kitchen cupboards? It didn't matter anyway. The most important issue at that moment was where the centaurs had gone and how they were going to find them. Period.

 

***

 

So basically, the plan of action?

1\. Don't get killed

Coran said they'd probably be ok but he gave them all weapons anyway. The quest wasn't as dangerous as other famous quests in the past but it was very likely that they would encounter some monsters. And that was pretty cool. Scary, but cool! Lance was hyped.

2\. They needed to go to Nysa

Nysa was a mountain in which the nymphs lived. Mount Nysa was meant to be  a beautiful place. The mountain was supposedly covered in ancient whispering trees as well as clear blue streams which could grant wishes.  It was also the birthplace of Dionysus so wine was a big thing there. Everyone was always slightly tipsy. The nymphs had been the last ones reported to see the centaurs. Coran said that visiting the nymphs to ask them more questions was probably the best way of finding the centaurs. The problem was Nysa was all the way in the green mountain state, Vermont.  Thankfully, adequate transport had been arranged for them– five pegasus had been equipped for the 399.9 mile journey across the country and would be ready by 9.00 am before they left. Lance had to admit  though, nymphs were pretty good looking. He was quite excited to meet with them. Like maybe a little too excited.

And lastly,

3\. The oracle

They needed to visit the oracle. She probably had some wise prophecy to share or something all magical like that. The oracle kinda scared Lance. She was very nice but she could also be very haunting. Her name was Allura, she used to be a princess before she became the oracle. No one knows why she traded her life of luxury to become the oracle. Maybe she was forced to. Maybe she did it as a favour. Or maybe she just bored. Maybe. No one knew. One thing everyone knew for sure though was that she was beautiful. Her white hair and tanned skin was highly admired by the boys at camp. Even Shiro. Lance reckoned Shiro had a thing for her. Like a real thing. It was quite cute actually.

The next day had dawned and there was a certain buzz in the air. The whole camp was ecstatic.  Lance was just tired though. He yawned as he lazily climbed into the shower. Last night had been a late night. It also didn't help that he hadn't slept much after their meeting. He'd just been so nervous. He couldn't stop thinking about it. There was a lot of pressure on them. It was the first quest that had been commenced in decades, so they needed do it right. They needed to show that the present demigods were just as good as previous demigods. Lance shivered. What if they got lost? What if they never came back? What if they all died?! Lance really didn't want to think about it. 

After his shower and when he was dressed, Lance admired the bow and arrows Coran had given him the night before. Even though Lance was not a child of Apollo or anything he could still shoot pretty damn well. He called himself the 'sharp shooter' of Aphordite– a hopeless romantic with a darn good aim.  Lance thought it was an awesome nickname. No else did it though. It had not gone down too well with other campers. Either way, he still thought he was a killer archer.

Lance's hand-to-hand combat skills and swordsmanship were a whole different story altogether though .He was definitely below average in that department. Whereas Keith, oh gods, Keith was a fricking killing machine. He was known as the camp assassin for a reason. Seriously, he could physically break your leg with one kick if you weren't careful. And you wouldn't even see him do it because he was so fast. It was scary how good he was. Lance had never really talked to Keith though. He had just observed him from a far during training sessions, watching him practice in the arena, wishing he would notice him. Hunk had caught Lance once:

 _Lance,_   _what_   _are_   _you staring at?_ _Are you drooling? Dude, ew. Wipe it off!_

_OH! Uh whoops. Sorry. That was gross. I got kinda distracted._

_Were you staring at Keith Kogane's ass?_

_What?! No, I was not!!! I just noticed he was wearing tight pants. That's all.  
_

_No, you were looking at his ass! Now don't lie to me._ _Have you got the hots for Keith?_  

_No, no and no!  Look Hunk. I don't even know the guy and from what I can tell he's a complete bastard. I **do not** like him. Plus, I'm straight._

_Really?_

_REALLY_   _HUNK_.  _REALLY_.

 _Ok then_... _*cough*_   _straight as a rainbow *cough*._

_What did you say?!_

_Nothing._

And that had been the end of that conversation. So yeah, Lance had mixed feelings about Keith.

With his bow and bag of arrows slung over his shoulder, Lance made his way to the stables. He could see everyone standing by the pegasus all ready to go. They were waiting for him.

"Good morning folks." Lance chimed as idly strolled up to them.

"You're late. Being late could get you killed in battle you know. You need to be more organised." Keith said darkly. 

"Glad to be in your company too, Kogane. Really I'm thrilled. You're just such a cheery person. "

Keith didn't reply. He just narrowed his eyes at Lance and then went back sharpening his long celestial bronze sword. 

Jeez, that guy had serious emo problems.

Shiro patted Lance's back and smiled at him "Don't worry. You're here now and that's the main thing. Plus you're only 5 minutes late. Keith was just early. He was the first here in fact. Anyway, we should get going and talk to Allura."

They all nodded and hooked their weapons and backpacks on the pegasus and then followed Shiro to the big house.  Wow, they were actually going on a quest. Lance couldn't believe it. It was all so real.

Hunk wrapped his arm round Lance. 

"Lance! Aw man, I'm so hungry. I think I've got a medical condition or something. Every time I get nervous my stomach growls out in pain crying 'feed me, feed me'! I should of brought  some snacks with me. By any chance, do you have any food?"

"No sorry, I left it in my bag."

Hunk whimpered in response. "I'm a dead man, I tell you. DEAD!"

"Oh here, I have some stuff." Pidge cut in. "I packed extra nutella sandwiches and peanut m&m's. Want some?"

Hunks gasped. If there was one way into Hunk's heart, offering food was definitely one of them.

"You sure? Oh Thank you. Thank you so much. Oh, come here you!" Hunk strode over to Pidge and gave her a massive hug, lifting her off the ground in the process.

"No... problem." Pidge wheezed as she got squeezed to death.

"GUYS!"  Shiro called.

Hunk instantly dropped Pidge with a thud. Lance couldn't help but laugh.

"Come on, hurry up. Allura's waiting." He signalled to them into the building.  

This was it. There was no going back.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this story isn't very popular but I just wanted to say I'm sorry I've taken so long to update, I'm on holiday at the mo. And it's too hot. And I wanna go home. But yea. Also I'm sorry that the chapters are so short. I'm just bad at writing so find it hard to write proper long chapters. ANYWAY, enjoy.  
> Ps.  
> Thank you so much for all the votes and comments. They're all so lovely and nice and it makes me smile ('cause people have the same humour as me lol) thanks again. :) also would anyone like to proof read my chapters? Please?  
> Maybe?

When they entered the attic, Allura was sitting in a chair at the back of the room. It was very dusty in the attic and the floor was strangely sticky. _Gross._ Allura had obviously not cleaned it in a while. She smiled at them.

"Hello! Hello! Please come in. It's nice to see you. Guess you're here to hear your prophecy then?"  
Shiro stumbled slightly when he saw her and blushed.  
"Oh hiya Allura. Yes, we are indeed. Haha. Haven't seen you in awhile. How are you? You look well."

OK. Lance was sure now. SHIRO TOTALLY HAD A THING FOR ALLURA. 100%. Like come on, the man blushed!

"Oh yes, I'm fine Shiro, thank you. I'm feeling great actually. I haven't given a prophecy in years! It's been rather boring, just sitting here. Last quest was eons ago. How about you guys? How are you? I'm sure you all must be very excited."  
"Hm... 'Excited' is one word for it." Pidge pondered.  
"I think 'nervous' is more accurate."  
Hunk nodded in agreement,  
"Oh yea, definitely. I'm already stress eating. Seriously, I'm craving Nachos and it's only 10 in the morning!!!"  
Lance laughed at this. Everything always led back to food. Nachos did sound good though. With lot's of salsa.

Before she could reply, Allura suddenly gasped and her eyes glazed over. A mysterious green mist began to permeate throughout the room. Everyone froze.

"The prophecy..." Keith mumbled in awe.

" _May hills lay empty,_  
_May murders leave innocent_

 _Two heroes will unite,_  
_One hero may never return,_  
_Another could fall,_  
_While one must be strong._

_But the real danger shines at night._

_Follow the Shepherd if you lose the flock,_  
_But don't lose the Shepherd or the Shepherd will run._ "

***

Oooookkkaaaayyyyyy...  
Lance was freaking out. Like really. The prophecy was weird af. Innocent murders? Empty Hills? Shepherds?!  
How did SHEPHERDS have anything to do with the finding centaurs? And what did she mean by 'one may never return'?  Were one of them going to DIE!? Oh gods. Lance wasn't ready for that. He didn't want to die young. He didn't want anyone to die in fact, even Keith!

They were saddling up the pegasus at the stables, getting ready to go. It was almost 11.30am and they needed to leave by noon if they wanted to get to Nysa before dusk. Travelling overseas in the dark always caused problems.  
" _The real danger shines at night_??? I don't understand. What does that mean exactly. Do you think it could be that there's a monster stealing the centaurs during the night?" Shiro scratched his head.  
"Could be." Pidge readjusted her glasses with a concentrated frown on her face.  
"But as you know, prophecies are always very twisted. They can have multiple meanings."  
"True." Keith mumbled as he pressed his thumb on his bottom lip.  
Lance threw his arms up in distress.  
"Well whatever it is, it's not a good thing and I don't like the sound of it. Not one little bit."  
He couldn't understand why no one seemed as concerned as him.  
"I mean, if there is something bad out there then we could be in serious trouble!"  
"Agreed." Hunk raised his hand.  
"I've got a hunch that something really awful is going to happen."  
"Look." Shiro breathed out.  
"Yes, obviously it's going to be dangerous but that's what quests are like. It's not a walk in the park, sadly. You need to be prepared to take risks and put yourself forward. We'll be alright though. Well, Hopefully."

HOPEFULLY!? Lance did not like the sound of that.

"Excuse me? Hopefully?"  
"Unfortunately Lance, I can't guarantee our safety." Shiro rubbed the back of his neck. The idea of not being able to fully protect everyone clearly didn't sit well with him.  
"I will try to keep us all safe. But you need to be alert too. Don't do anything stupid."  
"That's going to be hard for Mcclain."  
Keith interjected.  
Lance felt attacked. What a bastard. Why would he even say that?  
"Shut up, Kogane. At least I don't have an obnoxious emo mullet."  
"Emo? Mullet!?" Keith fumed,  
"Lance, I do not have a mullet! And secondly, I'm not an emo just because I listen to MCR. OK? Have you even heard their music? THEY ARE NOT EMO."  
Lance held up his hands in defense and smirked. Keith was in denial, and it was funny.  
"Sorry. Didn't mean to upset you... Wow, you're definitely going through a phase, aren't you Keith."  
"It's not a phase!!!"  
"Oh yeah?!"  
"GUYS!" Shiro pushed them apart.  
"Knock it off, seriously. It doesn't matter. We need to go."  
"Right." Keith spat at Lance.  
Lance just folded his arms.  
Gods, this was going to be long trip.

Hunk plopped on a pegasus and signalled for Lance to get on the other one next to him. Lance gladly followed and sat. Shiro was at the front of the group while Keith and Pidge sat in a pair in front of Lance and Hunk. Pidge looked behind her and pointed at Lance.  
"Hey, so, Lance, just warning you about my pegasus. She seems to have a 'gas problem'. I don't know why or how but um, just watch out. Ok? It could get rather smelly."  
Lance pinched his nose and gave a thumbs up. Surely it couldn't be worse than Hunk's farts.  
"Okay dokay."  
And then they set off.

Flying was better than Lance had ever imagined. The wind flowing through his hair, the autumn sun beating down on his face, the carpet of golden trees whizzing past him– it was breathtaking. The one down side though was the flies, they were a real choking hazard. And they really didn't taste that nice either. But apart from that, it was amazing. It was so amazing  in fact that Hunk didn't say a word about food, Pidge didn't start playing her DS and Keith actually smiled. He SMILED. And damn, it was a real nice smile. Annoyingly.

As they swooped down past the rocky shores, they waved goodbye to the land and said hello to the rolling Atlantic ocean. It was perfect. Lance had almost completely forgotten about the quest.

 

Well, that was until Pidge's pegasus started acting up.

 

 

* _pffffft_ *

 

 

"Oh my gods." Lance coughed.  
"It reeks."  
"You can say that again." Hunk gagged.  
"Sorry."  Pidge shrugged  
"I did warn you."  
"I can't breathe, I can't breathe." Lance gasped for clean air as he choked on the terrible stench.  
"I need oxygen. Call 911."  
"WE'RE ON A FLYING HORSE LANCE, NO."  
"

  
Hey guys look." Shiro pointed a head, completely unaware of the drama taking place behind him.  
"We're almost there. You see that mountain there with all the fluffy clouds around it? That's Nymsa."  
Lance peered into the distance. Wow. Shiro was right. You could see mount Nysa. To the untrained eye, it would've looked like an ordinary, dull mountain. But because all five of them could see past the mist they saw it for what it really was – a beautiful violet mountain with leafy green trees and crystal rivers cascading down the sides with pops of brightly coloured flowers. It was the most idyllic place Lance had ever seen in his life. But there was something wrong. Unlike Coran had mentioned, there was no laughter. Usually, because they drank so muchwine all the time, you could hear the tipsy giggles of the nymphs from miles away. Today though, there was no sound. Silence.  
"Are they sleeping or something?" Hunk said as he bit his nails nervously, hoping he was right.  
"I'm afraid not, Hunk." Shiro said, obviously puzzled by the silence as well.  
"I guess the only way to be sure is to go check it out. Come on, let's go." And with that, they sped off towards the mountain, gliding up to the peak with dread filling the air.  
Lance had a bad feeling about this.  
Like a really, _really_ bad feeling.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg that took sooooo long to update. I kept on deleting and restarting the chapter, I just couldn't get it right! I'm going to go with this before I change my mind. Sorry for the wait. (ps. I know it's really short, again...) I will try update in at least two weeks (or one, depending on how I feel/ how much time I have.)
> 
> :)

"Are they always this hard to find?" Hunk complained.

Since they had arrived on Nysa, they'd not been able to find a single nymph. Not one. It was all driving them insane. Lance didn't know how much more he could take of this. They'd searched both of the west and east side of the mountain and they had even checked all of the forests. The only place they hadn't checked was the very top of the mountain; the peak. Personally though, Lance didn't really fancy trekking all the way up there, they'd already been walking for hours. Unfortunately though, it seemed like it was their only option.

Pidge paused and then spoke, "Maybe they don't want to be found?" she suggested, obviously trying to persuade Shiro not to venture up to the top. Everyone looked around in agreement. Who needed nymphs anyway? Not Lance!

" _No_. No, we need to find them. We can't give up. The nymphs our are best chance of getting a lead on the centaurs. If we don't, all hope could be lost." Shiro insisted, he wasn't backing down.

They all groaned in protest and grudgingly, began to walk again. Sadly, Shiro was right. They had to find them. There was no other choice. It was either that or nothing. Lance cried internally. This was going to be awful. He was going to get blisters all over his toes again- his feet were very sensitive, you know. Plus he hadn't put on any antiperspirant that morning so he was going to sweat like crazy.

"For fucks sake," Keith cursed under his breath, "this is shit."

Lance turned round and gasped sarcastically "Keith! Language!"

"Shut up Lance, I'll say what I want."

Lance smirked and made a fey terror-stricken face.

" _AAaaahhh_ , I'm _so_ scared." he mocked.

Keith crossed his arms and growled. Lance was definitely pushing his luck. "You should be!"

"Really? What you gonna do, blast some emo music in my ears?"

"MCR ARE NOT EMO!"

"They are so!"

"NO they're not!"

"Uh, YES they are"

Pidge and Hunk sniggered behind them. It was true. They were.

"Look, I wouldn't expect you to understand. Unlike you, I listen to _real_ music." Keith said.

"Keith, omg that's sooooo emo."

"Gods help me, if you say 'emo' one more time I will rip out your tongue right out your fucking mouth and shove it down your throat."

Lance gulped. He'd gone too far. The line had been crossed. There was no going back.

Thankfully Hunk was there to save him. "Haha Keith, Lance, shall we move on now? How about we all calm down." he cooed, frantically trying to change the subject as quickly as possible before Keith completely lost his shit with Lance. "Think happy thoughts."

Pidge rolled her eyes in dismay, obviously unamused. "Ha yea, anyway, we should go soon before you two have another domestic." Keith and Lance opened and closed their mouths in protest. Pidge ignored them. "So Shiro, which way do we go?"

"The shortest way to go would be to go up the waterfall and head in a north west direction until we reach the top . It will take us at least two hours to get there."

"At least?!" Lance exclaimed,

"Yes" Shiro said "So we better go now if we want to make it before dusk."

Lance sighed. Gods, this was going to be horrible.

***

When they reached the top, they could hardly stand on their feet. The climb up had been torturous. There had been no marked paths and the ground had been completely unstable, causing them to almost plummet to their deaths multiple times.

"Heh," Hunk panted, bent over double with exhaustion "That. Was. Not. Ok. Shiro. You owe me, like, one hella BIG portion of chilli nachos when we get back. With extra cheese. And salsa. Lots, *gasp* and lots of salsa."

"Granted." Shiro gave a weary smile, trying his best to control breathe through his nose "Lance, you alright?"

Lance could hardly move; the burn was real. He was flat out on the floor wheezing - it was all too much. He wasn't sure how he hadn't passed out yet. Seriously, he thought his lungs were going to combust. Slowly, he propped himself up on his elbows and tiredly flapped his hand. "I'm, fine."

Keith leaned against a tree as he ran his fingers through his hair and let the sweat drip down his face. Lance watched him. Despite their on going rivalry, Lance couldn't help but feel slightly enchanted by him. Strangely, he was actually quite fond of Keith. His raven hair, his mauve eyes, his pale skin - he was honestly the most stunning person Lance had ever seen. Lance let out a deep, shaky breath. _Quiznak_ he thought, _am I gay?_ He paused. Keith. Was he gay for Keith? Really? Maybe he was, but only time would tell.

Eventually once they had all stopped gasping for air (and Lance finally stopped staring at Keith), they realised how quiet everything was. No birds, no insects, no noise - nothing. The land was completey still, like they were all frozen in time. Lance couldn't help but feel they weren't safe.

"Guys" Pidge said, screwing her face up in disgust "Do you smell that...?"

Lance sniffed the air momentarily and then gagged. That was one hell of a stinker.

"Sorry my bad. I pass wind when I get nervous." Hunk blushed, twisting his shirt in embarrassment.

"No. " Lance insisted, "It's not you, Hunk. I know what you're farts smell like and they don't smell like that. This is on a whole new scale." he turned round to look behind him, following the stench. From what he could tell, it was coming from the apple orchard. Shiro was the first to go. The rest of them stood back.

Standing by the entrance of the orchard, Shiro wore a worried expression on his face. Something was wrong. "Guys. You should come see this."

Oh gods.

Horror filled Lance's body. This couldn't be.

"What do we do?" Hunk panicked.

"Keep calm and search for evidence." Shiro insured.

"Like a crime scene?" Keith questioned.

"Yes. Unfortunately."

Lance couldn't believe it.

All the nymphs were dead.  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
